Deathstalker

  "Now you really are being silly, Robert. Everybody's lost loved ones in the last few years. Forget Letitia. That's the past. The times and the people that made her death possible are gone. Constance is in no danger from anyone here. You forget the past and concentrate on your future with Constance. I'm sure you're going to be very happy together, and the two of you can do a lot of good for the Empire as King and Queen."

  Robert sighed, and reluctantly unclenched his arms. "It all seems so sensible and obvious, when I hear you say it. It's just nerves, I suppose. This is supposed to be the most important day of my life, after all. But then, I suppose everyone feels that way about their wedding."

  "Not me," said Adrienne. "My marriage to Finlay was arranged by my father, who never liked me. They wouldn't even let me meet Finlay till the day of the wedding, and once I'd seen and talked to him, I knew why. I was already running for the door when one of my uncles tackled me and brought me down. I must be the only bride to give her vows in an armlock."

  "But don't you ever miss Finlay, now he's gone? I can't say I ever liked the man, but he did a lot of good, in his own way."

  "I missed him when he was alive, once. I didn't aim carefully enough."

  There was a polite knock at the door, and Baxter went to answer it, a gun suddenly appearing in his hand from nowhere. Weapons were forbidden to everyone here except designated security, but a gentleman's gentleman had many duties, and Baxter took them all very seriously. He eased the door open just wide enough to see out, gun at the ready but hidden from sight, and then he relaxed a little and made the disrupter disappear again. There was a short murmured conversation, and then Baxter swung the door open and stood back, allowing the masked figure of the Unknown Clone to enter. Robert and Adrienne immediately rose to greet him, polite smiles on their faces, as Baxter shut and locked the door again.

  One of the many political deals involved in putting the wedding ceremony together had involved a long argument over who should be Robert's best man. It was a station of some prestige, after all. Robert no longer had any close members of his Family left to stand at his side, so technically speaking, the position was up for grabs, and a great many people wanted it, for a great many reasons. And as in so many other matters, Robert didn't get a say. Eventually the clone underground made the best deal, or made the most noise, and the politically significant figure of the Unknown Clone was selected as Robert's official best man. Robert had never even exchanged a dozen words with the enigmatic masked figure, but he thought of all the possible alternatives, and decided he could have fared much worse, and kept his mouth firmly shut.

  "Good of you to look in," he said politely, as the masked man loomed over him. He put out a hand, and the Unknown Clone took it in a firm grip that lasted just a little longer than politeness demanded.

  "I thought we should talk, before the ceremony," said the Unknown Clone, the voice behind the featureless leather mask distorted by an electronic filter, "Evangeline and I put a lot of effort into ensuring that I was selected as best man."

  Robert frowned slightly, confused. Like everyone else, he had no idea who was behind the leather mask, but as far as he knew he'd never had much to do with clones. He wasn't bigoted; he just never moved in those kinds of circles. And then he caught his breath as the Unknown Clone slowly raised his hands and removed the mask, revealing the very familiar features of Finlay Campbell.

  "Good God!" said Robert, falling back a pace.

  "Bloody hell!" said Adrienne, rising to her feet.

  Baxter remained calm and unmoved, as befitted a gentleman's gentleman, but even he couldn't prevent one eyebrow rising.

  "You're supposed to be dead," said Robert. "Hell; I even paid for your funeral!"

  "I know," said Finlay. "I was there. Watching, from a safe distance. Nice ceremony, I thought. Not much of a crowd, but more than I deserved. Good of you to take care of things, Robert."

  Robert Campbell shrugged uncomfortably. "We were Family. You'd have done the same for me."

  "Yes," said Finlay. "That's why I'm here, now. It's only right that someone from the old Family should be your best man."

  He put out a hand again, but Robert ignored it, pulling Finlay forward into an embrace.

  "Oh shit," said Adrienne feelingly, as the two men separated and stood back. "Does this mean I'm still married to you, you bastard?"

  Finlay grinned. "Probably not. Finlay Campbell is dead and laid to rest in his Family crypt, and I'm just as happy to leave it that way. I have a new life now, without all the… complications from my old one. Let the dead rest in peace. I've only revealed my identity to you so that Robert would know he had proper Family support on his big day." He nodded to Robert. "You've come a long way. Done well. The old Family would have been proud of you."

  "You could come back," said Robert. "Once I'm King, I'm sure I could get you a Pardon for Gregor's murder. And you have far more right to be the Campbell than I ever had."

  "I never wanted it," said Finlay. "Let Finlay Campbell rest in peace. I never liked him much anyway."

  "Finally, we have something in common," said Adrienne, and everyone laughed. "I take it Evangeline knows about this?"

  "Of course. Who do you think arranged for me to become the Unknown Clone?" He hefted the leather mask in his hand. "I seem to have spent most of my life hiding behind one bloody mask or another. One more is no big deal. At least this one stands for something that matters." He grinned at Robert. "You and Constance have lots of kids. We need to rebuild the Clan."

  And then he put his mask back on, and the Unknown Clone bowed once, respectfully, to Robert, before leaving the private room. Robert shook his head slowly, and Adrienne sat back onto her chair.

  "Well," she said heavily. "This is turning out to be quite a day, isn't it? I wonder who else is going to come back from the dead?"

  "Just as long as it isn't Owen Deathstalker," said Robert. "That really would throw the cat among the politicians." He sighed, and then looked at Baxter, who was still staring at the door Finlay had closed behind him. "Is something wrong, Baxter? You seem a little… preoccupied."

  "Oh no, sir. It's just… I never met Finlay Campbell before. I was a great fan of his, when he fought in the Arenas as the Masked Gladiator. I have all the holo documentaries on him, and I know all the statistics of his career by heart. I just wish I could have worked up enough courage to ask for his autograph."

  "I'll ask him later," said Robert. "But you'd better be very quiet about how you got it. I have to say, I was surprised as hell when news of his other identity emerged after his death. I knew him mostly as a clothes horse and grand master of fashion."

  "Finlay as best man," said Adrienne. "Now that really is a contradiction in terms…"

  In yet another private room off the floor of the House, Constance Wolfe sat alone. She'd been surrounded by people all morning, fussing over her dress and flowers and appearance, until their voices blended into one unbearable nag, but eventually they'd done all they could, and she sent them all away. She needed time alone, time to think, and reflect. She sat on a straight-backed chair, perfectly made-up, hair piled on top of her head, wearing the most delightful and expensive wedding dress that anyone had ever seen. Various committees had tried to impose various styles of dress on her, while all the main designers on Golgotha threatened to cut their wrists if she didn't choose them, but Constance had refused the bribes and ignored the pressures and produced her own design. She knew what suited her best. And she needed to feel she was in charge of at least some part of the ceremony. She didn't bother looking at the mirror on the wall. She looked very beautiful, and she knew it, but that didn't comfort her. She had a lot to think about.

  The room seemed so much larger with only her in it. The blessed quiet was a balm to her nerves, and she was determined to be calm and serene by the time the ceremony finally started. One of the happy couple had to be, and she doubted very much it was going to be Robert. The poor dear was probably charging back and forth in hi
s room by now, sweating buckets and retying his cravat over and over again just to keep his hands occupied. At least he wasn't recovering from a late stag night; Security had had a collective coronary at the very thought, and said no very loudly. It wouldn't have been much of a gathering anyway; most of Robert's Family were dead, and most of his friends… were out fighting the Enemies of Humanity. Constance scowled, and firmly pulled her thoughts back on track. She had a lot to think about, and she wanted it all settled in her mind before she put down her veil and walked up the aisle. She was leaving her old life behind her to take on a much more important role, and she didn't want to take any of her old baggage with her.

  Constance was the last of what had once been a great Family. Clan Wolfe had been the most prominent Family in the Empire, rich and powerful and entirely unchallenged, and though Constance was only a part of the Clan by marriage, she had always taken great pride in being a Wolfe. That pride was tarnished now, the Family brought down by the exiled and despised Valentine. The only other Wolfe left of note had been her other stepson, Daniel, but he too had been proven a traitor. Both Valentine and Daniel would be dead the moment they were found. And her only other stepchild, Stephanie, was already dead, murdered by Jack Random in his last insane slaughter. Constance scowled. She'd never liked Stephanie. Hell, the silly chit had spent most of her time plotting to wrest control of Clan Wolfe away from Constance, but she was still Jacob's daughter, and she hadn't deserved to die at a madman's hands. Jack Random had quite deliberately put himself beyond the pale, and had to pay the price. So no one else's daughter would have to die like Stephanie.

  She wondered what her late husband Jacob would make of her new wedding. She liked to think he would approve; would want her to be happy. She'd been happy with Jacob, and so much in love. She'd fully expected to spend the rest of her life with him, and had wanted nothing more. When he died, she nearly died with him. Her whole reason for living was gone. Certainly she'd never expected to know love again. Her prospective marriage with Owen Deathstalker had been a thing of duty and honor, nothing more. But then he died too… and Robert Campbell came into her life. And quite unexpectedly, love had blossomed in the ashes of her heart. It wasn't the same as before. Robert was no Jacob. But that was probably for the best. She knew exactly where she stood with Robert.

  She was so happy now. And so afraid that something awful would go wrong, and spoil everything. That everything would be taken from her, just as before.

  All her immediate Family were gone, lost to her. Her husband Jacob, her stepchildren Valentine, Stephanie, and Daniel, even her son and daughter-in-law, Michel and Lily. So much death, in so short a time. But everyone had lost someone in the rebellion. She had no right to feel special, and wallow in her loss, when so many others had lost so much more. So Constance had turned to politics to fill her life and give it meaning and purpose, and had found to her surprise that she was rather good at it. She'd always been appalled by some of the Families' casual misuse and abuse of power, and had fought hard to reach a position where she could do something about it. She smiled grimly. Wait until she was Queen. The Clans were in for one hell of a surprise… and Blue Block too. They might think they were safely hidden in the shadows, but once she'd been crowned Queen… Blue Block and its secret machinations had been a blight on the Empire far too long, and she would bring them to book, whatever it took.

  They probably thought she'd be safely sidelined as a merely constitutional monarch, but it had been so long since the Empire had such a post that no one really knew what it meant anymore. Which in real terms meant Constance could define her role in any damned way she felt; or could get away with. She had no wish to lead the Empire, but she saw nothing wrong in nudging it in the right direction, from time to time. Constance grinned again. She was going to enjoy being Queen.

  There was a quiet knock at the door, and Constance started almost guiltily, half-afraid someone had overheard her thoughts. But she pushed the sudden panic firmly to one side. The Elf esp-blockers were everywhere now. Her thoughts, and her future plans, were strictly her own. She smoothed down her dress unnecessarily, and called in her best cool, commanding voice for the visitor to enter. She put her shoulders back and held her head high, and then relaxed again almost immediately as Evangeline Shreck came in, carefully shutting the door behind her.

  Constance rose immediately from her chair and went forward to take Evangeline's hands in hers. The two women had a lot in common, both a part of Families that had brought them only heartache. Both had longed for the power to change the world they lived in for the better, and now Constance was to be Queen, while Evangeline headed the clone underground. She was also the head of Clan Shreck these days, with Gregor finally dead, as Toby still adamantly refused to accept the position or the responsibility. It had been Evangeline who first suggested the Unknown Clone as Robert's best man, and Constance who helped push it through. (Though Evangeline hadn't told Constance the real reason. If Constance had known the mysterious Unknown Clone was actually the infamous Finlay Campbell, murderer of Gregor Shreck, she might have felt obliged to do something official about it. So Evangeline never told her, and saved Constance from having to choose between her friend and her duty. Because you never knew.)

  In the meantime, Evangeline was to stand at Constance's side at the wedding, and officially give her away. Constance's own father had disowned her after she went against his wishes to marry Jacob Wolfe, and all the sea changes in the Empire since hadn't changed his stubborn mind. None of Constance's original Family would be attending the wedding. Constance had nothing to say about that, in public or in private. So Evangeline, as a close friend and head of one of the Empire's oldest Families, would give her away. It helped that she was the clone representative too. Such things mattered, in the eyes of the Empire.

  (Evangeline hadn't told Constance that she was just a clone herself, and fighting to avoid a genetest that would reveal her true nature and strip control of Clan Shreck from her. Perhaps later. When things were more… settled.)

  "I'm so glad you're here, Evie," said Constance, as they both sat down, carefully arranging the frills and flounces of their dresses around them. (Constance's was pure white, for entirely traditional reasons; Evangeline's was a striking emerald green.) "I had to throw most of my people out; they were driving me crazy with their endless fussing. And I swear if Chantelle sticks her pointed nose round my door one more time, with one more snotty comment or order disguised as advice, I am going to part her hair with something large and heavy and pointed."

  "Relax," said Evangeline, smiling in spite of herself. "Last I saw, she'd run out of people to bully on the floor of the House, and had gone out into the antechamber to make their lives miserable too. I think your choosing her to run things was a stroke of genius. Apart from Kid Death, she's probably the only person that everyone here is afraid of. In fact, she's made herself so universally unpopular that any assassin who might somehow sneak past the Elves would probably be after her rather than you."

  "I never meant for my wedding day to get this out of hand," said Constance, just a little tiredly. "It's more like a circus than a ceremony. But Parliament was determined to make a major occasion out of it, for the obvious reasons. Is there still no news from the Last Standing, or the Excalibur? Do we even know if they've made contact with the Shub fleet yet?"

  "Their last communication said they were still closing in, and would we please stop bothering Diana Vertue, as she was trying to concentrate. If I stopped to think that all our fates are in the hands of a woman who was once called Jenny Psycho, with extremely good reason, I'd probably be very worried. So I'm not thinking about it, and I recommend you don't either. Concentrate on your wedding. Do you want to run through the responses one more time?"

  "No! Thank you. I've been through so many rehearsals now I could do it in my sleep. At least we got that honor and obey bit thrown out." Constance stopped and looked at Evangeline very soberly. "I'm glad you're here, Evie. There's something I n
eed to talk about. Something I couldn't discuss with anyone else. Maybe not even Robert. I've been thinking about my role as Queen… about all the things I plan to do… and more and more it seems to me that I sound just like Lionstone. Intriguing and politicking to make people do things, just because I think I'm right. I don't want to be an Empress! I don't want to lead Humanity. I just want to be… the voice of reason."

  "And you will be," Evangeline said firmly. "The best person to place in a position of power is the one person who doesn't want to be there. Owen taught us that. He never wanted to be a rebel, or a rebel leader, but he changed the Empire, because he saw it was the right thing to do, and couldn't, wouldn't, look away. He understood what duty and honor really mean."

  "Yes, he did." Constance sighed. "It's hard to believe someone like him is really dead. The only truly honorable man I ever knew. Apart from Robert, of course."

  "Owen might still turn up again, someday."

  "God, I hope not! That really would complicate things. No; he's far more useful as a legend now. Someone to inspire the next generation."

  "Would you really have married him? I mean, you never loved him."

  "No. But I admired him. I would have been proud to be his wife. The marriage was my idea, after all. And the Empire does so need its heroes. But I think… he probably would have hated being even a constitutional monarch. He would have found it very limiting, after all the things he'd been through. So I suppose things have a way of turning out right, eventually. I'm marrying Robert Campbell, and he will make a fine King and a better husband. Who says there are no happy endings anymore?"

  People circulated constantly in the increasingly crowded antechamber, waiting impatiently for their chance to see and be seen. There were news cameras everywhere; but Toby Shreck and Imperial News had exclusive rights to the ceremony itself, so all the other news and gossip stations had to make do with the antechamber and the exterior preparations. Holocameras shot back and forth overhead, trying desperately to find someone or something worth covering, that might distract from Toby Shreck's coverage. Some cameras became caught up in savage butting contests as they fought over the few decent scraps of news available. Mostly first glances of who was with who, and what they were wearing.